Polariton-stabilized solid-state spin clock

US11586152B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignees

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology · US
• The USA as Represented by the Secy. of the Army · US

Inventors

• Matthew Edwin Trusheim · Cambridge, US
• Kurt Jacobs · Lake Bluff, US
• Jonathan Hoffman · Herzliya, IL
• Donald Fahey · Washington, US
• Dirk Robert Englund · San Diego, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Oct 18, 2021
• Grant date: Feb 21, 2023
• Expiry date: Oct 18, 2041

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G04F5/145
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

An ensemble of spin defect centers or other atom-like quantum systems in a solid-state host can be used as a compact alternative for an atomic clock thanks to an architecture that overcomes magnetic and temperature-induced systematics. A polariton-stabilized solid-state spin clock hybridizes a microwave resonator with a magnetic-field-insensitive spin transition within the ground state of a spin defect center (e.g., a nitrogen vacancy center in diamond). Detailed numerical and analytical modeling of this polariton-stabilized solid-state spin clock indicates a potential fractional frequency instability below 10−13 over a 1-second measurement time, assuming present-day experimental parameters. This stability is a significant improvement over the state-of-the-art in miniaturized atomic vapor clocks.